If you’re reading this site, chances are you have, at some point, had contact with the Couple to Couple League. You probably took a class in natural family planning, but you might not really know what CCL does beyond offering classes.

The Couple to Couple League was founded in the 1970s as a way for couples to mentor other couples into the practice of NFP. To my knowledge, it’s the only NFP method based on this mission. Except for a small, dedicated staff at the central office in the Cincinnati area, CCL is entirely composed of volunteers.

That staff at Central is fiercely dedicated to changing the face of our culture through the promotion of natural family planning. They hunt down research to improve the method. They coordinate with local chapters and dioceses, offering resources and support to help local communities bring the good news about NFP to a world that desperately needs it.

Many people only come into contact with CCL for the length of their initial class. You learn NFP and you think you’re done–that’s the beauty of the method, after all; it’s a lifetime of knowledge, gained for a small investment of time and resources.

But then, there are those confusing times–postpartum, premenopause, times when health issues or stress send screwball cycles your way–that’s when you want the support to be there waiting for you.

When family members or acquaintances needle you for practicing NFP, that’s when you need to know you’re not alone–when you need the support of others who have made the same choices you have.

And when your kids approach “that” age, the age where temptation besets them on every side and they are most at risk of falling prey to the force of societal pressure–that’s when you want CCL to be strong. That’s when you want to know that while you were busy raising your family, CCL was acting on behalf of your children’s future.

But for CCL to be able to continue its mission, we need you right now. When you signed up for a class, you received a one-year membership to CCL. That included a subscription to Family Foundations, which features families like yours and their struggles and triumphs. Membership also gave you access to CCL Central staff’s trove of experience and expertise.

But the fact is, CCL needs you beyond that first year. We need your prayers, your financial support, and your involvement. The more we work together, and the more we pool our resources, the more we will be able to make a difference in this world.

So if you learned NFP through CCL but haven’t renewed your membership, we’re asking you to take time to do so. Our local chapter won’t get a kickback, but your support will uplift and strengthen the organization that helps us do what we do here in the diocese of Jefferson City.